Promoting Compliance In Supermarket Chains: An Essay On Internal And External Measures In New Zealand.

1.Discuss how you would promote internal compliance (a practical plan mat you would implement) within the Supermarket chain of 1 (one) of the following:

• quality management,

• health and safety,

• privacy,

• strategic and risk management,

• audits and reviews; reporting; and other industry specific compliance 

2.Discuss how you would promote external compliance (a practical plan that you would implement) within the Supermarket chain of 1 (one) of the following:

• laws and regulations,

• external evaluations and

• immigration 

Promotion of Internal Compliance with regard to Quality Management of a Supermarket chain

This particular essay deals with aspects of promotion of both internal and external compliance at the supermarket chains across New Zealand. The importance of this essay is to inform about the methods which have been undertaken to promote the compliance, and provide for the information regarding the legal and the policy related decisions taken in that regard.

The state of New Zealand has passed certain legislations to regulate the sale and purchase of food products in the country so as to ensure that the health and safety concerns of the customers are not compromised with. The penalties too have been made quite stringent than ever before. In this section the discussion of it shall done with reference to what super market chains should follow in order to comply with the norms.

According to the Animal Products Act of 1999 the supermarkets are supposed to have adequate infrastructural facilities for storing and processing of meat and dairy products. The level of drugs that goes into the animal during the process of raising it for the sake of meat products is supposed to be kept under check. It has been made into a law that the farmers are not supposed to inject too much of harmful steroids into the bodies of the animals to make it fit for consumption, or to speeden up its physical growth. There are also strict penalties for selling chemical fed animals as organic products since it is considered as fraud. (Büyükünal et al., 2015)

According to the Wine Act (2003) super market chains are not supposed to sell alcoholic products to buyers who have not attained the legal age to buy it. Any breach of that principle can lead to the termination of the license of the super market chain. Stores are allowed to sell alcoholic products within a permissible percentage of alcohol content in it in the regular license, beyond that it is forbidden. (Hobin et al., 2015).

Related to the aspect of visually appealing presentation is the factor of hygiene. Super markets are supposed to neat and clean, and free of any dirt. Periodical cleaning by the usage of advanced machineries like vacuum cleaner, de-odorizing sprays, infection control mechanisms, proper air conditioning facilities are required for maintaining proper hygiene and sanitation. It also contributes to the aesthetic appeal of the supermarket. The supermarkets should at the same time also ensure that they abide by the Health and Safety Act at Work 2015, and also the guidelines issued by the International Labour Organization for ensuring that the quality of products being delivered is good and safe for consumption, and at the same time the needs of the employees are taken care of (Kanter, Reyes & Corvalán, 2017).

Promotion of External Compliance within the Supermarket Chain with regard to Laws and Regulation

Proper segregation of perishable items from the durable ones should be followed. Vegetables, fruits, eggs rank in the lower rungs of the durability index given the short span of freshness and the fragility of the nature of the products. They require special maintenance and ambience for staying fresh and intact for a little longer period of time. Since they tend to decompose easily, they must be handled with care and ensured that the fresh ones remain on the shelves and the rest disposed off safely (Loutfi et al., 2015). Similarly, there should be a separate section dedicated to other durable items. They must be checked at regular intervals to ensure that customers do not choose expired items for themselves. It is a very common phenomenon among consumers to judge the credibility and dependability of a supermarket chain with regard to what products they keep. In case they pick up an item which has already crossed the expiry date from the date of manufacture, they shall feel that the store might be intending to cheat and dupe the customers surreptitiously (Loutfi et al., 2015). According to the Food Act of 2014 of New Zealand, selling customers products which have crossed the expiry date can lead to severe penalties on part of the super market chain as it interferes with the health and safety concern of the customers. This act was necessary to maintain a high standard of safety with regard to the quality of food (Chatzipetrou & Moschidis, 2016)

No business organization is outside the ambit of governmental rules and regulations. Similarly, super market chains too are supposed to be guided by certain rules and regulations as directed by the pronouncement of the legal statutes of the country. The government makes certain rules and regulations to ensure that the safety of the consumers remain intact, and in case there is an occasion whereby a customer has faced issues with regard to purchase of a product, and on being dissatisfied or harmed by the product, the customer can take actions against the super market and demand for reparations (Gaceri, 2015). This is why, for the sake of formulating principles that shall be protecting the customers against potential harms, the laws and regulations are necessary. It is the responsibility of the ones who own the super market chains to comply by the rules and regulations set by the government.

The owners of the super market chains must ensure that they obtain proper license before functioning as a business, or else it shall be deemed as illegal and that shall force the governmental authorities to take actions against the store owners. The owners of the super market chains must ensure that they pay the taxes properly to the government. Evasion of taxes is a criminal offence, and at the same time extremely unethical a practice which must be avoided at any cost (Asomah, & Cheng, 2018). It is very important that the companies come up on a regular basis with reports regarding their business and make sure that they are correct and not falsified accounts of their turnover, profits and revenues. As per the legal arrangements, it is unethical and at a crime as well to deprive the government of the knowledge of the business related details, as it goes against the spirit of being accountable and transparent to the concerned authorities. Auditing of the range of products along with the prices showing very clearly how much the supermarket is charging from the customers. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the super market chains do not dupe the people and overcharge prices on them in the name of tax  (Soutjis,  Cochoy & Hagberg, 2017).

Another aspect very important with regard to the compliance with legal aspects is adherence to food and health related safety policies as set by the government (Megale, 2018). The super market chains must ensure that they do not store products in their warehouses which are not complying with the rules and regulations related to that. The government takes the responsibility of the fact that super markets sell goods that are conducive for human consumption. No products which contain elements that can harm the health of the clients must be put up on the shelves of the super market chains. Selling of products contrary to the labels is a legal offence, and customers can sue the super markets if they discover that they are indulging in unfair and fraudulent trade practices. Proper labelling, bearing all the necessary information related to the product so that customers can buy them after having a knowledge of all the ingredients that goes into the making of the product (Kidd, 2016).

These are the guidelines which super market chains should follow in order to conduct business in a legal way.

Conclusion

Thus it is quite evident that quite a lot of measures have been undertaken to ensure quality and health as per the legal statutes passed by the government of New  Zealand.

References

Asomah, J. Y., & Cheng, H. (2018). Food crime in the context of cheap capitalism. A handbook of food crime: Immoral and illegal practices in the food industry and what to do about them.

Büyükünal, S. K., Issa, G., Aksu, F., & Vural, A. (2015). Microbiological quality of fresh vegetables and fruits collected from supermarkets in Istanbul, Turkey.

Gaceri, K. A. (2015). Factors affecting the implementation of health and safety in supermarkets in kenya. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 5(2), 223-281.

Hobin, E., Sacco, J., Vanderlee, L., Rosella, L., L’abbe, M., Bollinger, B., ... & Hammond, D. (2015). Can an On-Shelf Nutrition Labelling System Improve the Nutritional Quality of Food Purchases in Supermarkets?. Canadian Journal of Diabetes, 39, S32.

Kanter, R., Reyes, M., & Corvalán, C. (2017). Photographic methods for measuring packaged food and beverage products in supermarkets. Current Developments in Nutrition, 1(10), e001016.

Kidd, E. (2016). Legal: Understanding contraventions. Company Director, 32(2), 48.

Loutfi, A., Coradeschi, S., Mani, G. K., Shankar, P., & Rayappan, J. B. B. (2015). Electronic noses for food quality: A review. Journal of Food Engineering, 144, 103-111.

Megale, T. M. (2018). Supermarkets and private standards of sustainability: the responsibility to protect without protectionism (Doctoral dissertation).

ReferencesChatzipetrou, E., & Moschidis, O. (2016). Quality costing: a survey in Greek supermarkets using multiple correspondence analysis. International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 33(5), 615-632.

Soutjis, B., Cochoy, F., & Hagberg, J. (2017). An ethnography of Electronic Shelf Labels: The resisted digitalization of prices in contemporary supermarkets. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 39, 296-304.